Original
Overview
Charlie's trip through the steel mill can be harrowing!Eggs of Steel: Charlie's Eggcellent Adventure, known in-game as Eggs of Steel and in Japan as Hello Charlie!!, is a comedic 3D isometric platformer developed by Rhythm & Hues and published by Enix in Japan on July 30, 1998, with a North American release (co-published with Atlus) in November 1998 (originally as a Blockbuster Video rental exclusive, then later as a standalone release).
The sole video game from visual effects and CGI animation studio Rhythm & Hues, Eggs of Steel follows Charlie Takanite, an anthropomorphic egg and the careless night watchman of the MomSteel Steel Factory, as he accidentally causes the machinery go haywire. As the Emergency Reset Switch is non-operational, Charlie must navigate through the entire steel mill to punch all the timecards and collect all four keys (with the help of robots Blaze and Rotato) while avoiding unruly robots, various hazards, and other antagonistic eggs.
The game features unique flip-screen 3D platforming reminiscent of older platformers (such as the Dizzy series), which makes heavy use of static pre-rendered backgrounds. It also features around 30 minutes of CGI full-motion video cutscenes.
Gameplay
Stand near fans to cool off.Eggs of Steel is almost exclusively played from an isometric perspective. Levels are presented as a series of static, pre-rendered screens, somewhat reminiscent of the original Resident Evil. Unlike Resident Evil, Eggs of Steel is more of a 3D platformer.
Charlie must traverse the steel mill jumping across platforms and solving puzzles. Charlie's abilities include rolling for increased speed, throwing bolts, and swinging his wrench for melee attacks. In different levels, the wrench can be upgraded to either silver or gold, dealing extra damage to the robots and creatures inhabiting the steel mill.
In addition to a health meter, Charlie has a temperature gauge. Certain areas featuring fire or molten steel will slowly begin to cook Charlie, requiring the player to find a place to cool Charlie down. As Charlie heats up or cools down, the color of his hat changes from blue to red, as well as the thermometer increasing at the bottom of the screen.
The goal in most areas is to punch out at a certain number of time clocks located around each level, though some levels have other sub-objectives and minigames that must be cleared as well.
Fighting a boss.Coins are available for the player to collect, increasing in value from silver, to gold, and to blue. After collecting more than 100 coins, an extra life will be awarded. Green coins are also available that will allow you to play a bonus round at the end of each stage, where large quantities of bolts, coins, and extra lives can be collected.
A map can be accessed to show Charlie's progress through the steel mill, with a rudimentary fast travel system allowing you to access areas related to the current level you're tackling. At the end of each level, you must face off with one of the 12 bosses of the Mom Steel mill, after which Charlie will dance.
Levels
- Catwalk Craze
- Rusty's Realm
- Blast Furnace Bingo
- Rafters
- Rusty's Revenge
- ?
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